Ann Robinson
Ann Robinson | |
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![]() Robinson in 1955 | |
Born | May 25, 1929 |
Years active | 1949–2005 |
Spouses |
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Children | 2 |
Ann Robinson (born May 25, 1929) is an American former actress and stunt horse rider, perhaps best known for her work in the science-fiction classic
Early life
Robinson was born on May 25, 1929,[1][2] and attended Hollywood High School. Her father was employed by the Bank of Hollywood, at the corner of Hollywood and Vine. He taught her how to ride horses, beginning when she was only three. Robinson became an accomplished rider, which led to her first professional work in Hollywood as a stunt rider in film Frenchie with Shelley Winters.[3]
Acting career
After doubling for Winters in Frenchie (1950), Robinson starred and rode in several Westerns during her career such as The Cimarron Kid (1951) with Audie Murphy, Gun Brothers (1956), and Gun Duel in Durango (1957).[3]
Paramount Pictures signed Robinson as an actress in the early 1950s. Her first leading role was as "Sylvia Van Buren" in The War of the Worlds (1953) co-starring with Gene Barry,[4] a role she quasi-reprised in two later films, first as Dr. Van Buren in Midnight Movie Massacre (1988) and then as Dr. Sylvia Van Buren in The Naked Monster (2005). She also reprised the role in three episodes of the television series War of the Worlds (1988).
Robinson worked on several other films, including Imitation of Life (1959), and the Doris Day thriller Julie (1956). She also had a starring role opposite Jack Webb and Ben Alexander in Dragnet (1954), a feature film version of the hit television series. From 1955 to 1959, Robinson was cast in ten episodes of the NBC children's western television series Fury as Helen Watkins, the teacher of series character Joey Clark Newton (Bobby Diamond) and romantic interest of his adopted father, Jim Newton (Peter Graves).
Robinson's other television roles were on
Robinson was featured in several commercials for
In 1985, Robinson appeared in a documentary about George Pal titled The Fantasy Film Worlds of George Pal (produced and directed by Arnold Leibovit). In 1988, Ann Robinson reprised her role as Sylvia van Buren from the original The War of the Worlds film for the War of the Worlds television series. In the 2005 Steven Spielberg film, War of the Worlds, she played a cameo role as Tom Cruise's character's mother-in-law, the grandmother of Dakota Fanning's character, alongside her long-ago co-star Gene Barry.[3] Upon completing this role, she retired from acting.
Personal life
In 1957, Robinson eloped to Mexico to marry
Selected Filmography
- Rawhide (1960) (Season 3 Episode 2: "Incident of the Challenge") as Julia Garcia
- Alfred Hitchcock Presents (1961) (Season 6 Episode 38: "Ambition") as Helen Cox
References
- ISBN 978-0786476435. Retrieved September 1, 2018.
- ISBN 9780976940005.
- ^ a b c d e f "About Ann Robinson". Archived from the original on July 7, 2011. Retrieved June 23, 2011.
- ^ King, Susan (June 27, 2005). "A 'War' veteran's reenlistment". The Los Angeles Times. California, Los Angeles. Archived from the original on June 20, 2018. Retrieved June 20, 2018.
- ^ "Cheyenne - "Mountain Fortress" - Season One - 9/20/55". Getty Images. Retrieved July 28, 2019.
- ^ "Echo Park residents scope out proposed Barlow Hospital development". September 8, 2009. Retrieved June 24, 2011.[permanent dead link]
External links
- Ann Robinson at IMDb
- Ann Robinson at the American Film Institute Catalog
- Ann Robinson interview, thespectrum.com; accessed August 10, 2016.